JULY 22 - Today in Food History

1376 According to legend, the Pied Piper got rid of all the rats in the German town of Hamelin. When the townspeople refused to pay, the Pied Piper led all the towns children away. This is the date given by Richard Rowland Verstegan in 1605 - the earliest version in English. In 'The Anatomy of Melancholy' (1621) Robert Burton gives the date as June 20, 1484. Other dates range back to 1284 AD.

1461 Charles VII of France was born. His mistress, Agnes Sorel, was a celebrated cook who created several dishes, and had several culinary creations named in her honor. (Agnes Sorel soup garnish, Agnes Sorel Timbales, etc.).

1822 Gregor (Johann) Mendel was born. Mendel was an Austrian botanist whose work was the foundation of the science of genetics. Working mainly with garden peas (some 28,000 plants over 7 years), he discovered what was to become know as the laws of heredity.

1915 Sir Sanford Fleming died. He devised the present system of time zones while working for the Canadian Pacific Railway. (Time & Time Zone Trivia)

1952 Frank L. Zybach of Strasburg, Colorado received U.S. patent No. 2,604,359 for a "Self-Propelled Sprinkling Irrigating Apparatus." This is the now familiar center-pivoting system that waters large circles of crops.

1956 Curnonsky (Maurice Edmond Sailland) died. At the age of 84, he leaned too far out of his window and fell to his death. French writer, novelist, biographer, and gastronome. Curnonsky was known as the "Prince of Gastronomes," a title he was awarded in a public referendum in 1927, and a title no one else has ever been given.

1957 Walter Frederick Morrison filed a design patent (No. 183,626) application for a plastic 'Flying Toy' which he sold under the name 'Pluto Platter' - this was the basic design for the 'Frisbee.' Patent granted Sept 30, 1958.

1967 The rock group Vanilla Fudge made its concert debut in New York

2011 Record high temperatures on the East Coast: Newark, New Jersey hit a record high of 108°F at 3pm.